If there is such as thing as too many cherry tomatoes, and I could swear I heard someone grousing about that a couple of days ago, it is not a problem I have ever had. In fact, I can hardly ever just get them into the house because a sun warmed little tomato is just the best ever garden snack, plucked off the vine directly into my mouth.
I had a good bit of motivation to resist, however, when Gina Doyle of Ripley sent along this great idea of what to do with a quart of ripe cherry tomatoes. With three plants–one Sungold, one Grape, and a charming heirloom black-red whose name I forget—I finally assembled close to a quart of them. I love roasting vegetables because their flavor is so wonderfully intensified, so Gina’s recipe really appealed to me, and even though the idea of storing some away is a good one, we wiped out the entire batch in one sitting.
Gina wrote, “I can’t remember where exactly I got this idea. I’m sure I read about it somewhere or perhaps a friend told me about it.” Gina uses parchment paper to line a cookie sheet. I’ve become a real parchment paper believer and in this case it is particularly helpful because roasted tomatoes stuck on a baking sheet would be such a nuisance to clean. “If you have a heavy duty sheet,” she advised, “it works better as the thinner ones tend to warp at higher temperatures.”
Gina recommended basil, oregano, and/or rosemary, fresh or dried, in addition to garlic to season the tomatoes. I chose basil along with coarse pickling salt and pepper. I served them on French bread rounds with grated fresh Parmesan over them. They just vanished off the plate. They’d be wonderful tossed with pasta, or added to a salad. I want to try them tossed with green beans.
So now, back out to the plants and the struggle to resist eating them on the spot.
- 1 quart cherry tomatoes, halved
- Fresh or dried basil, oregano, and/or rosemary
- Freshly minced garlic
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Line a cookie or baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Lay the cut tomatoes closely together with the cut side up on the sheet.
- Sprinkle the herbs and garlic and salt and pepper over the tomatoes.
- Dribble olive oil over the tomatoes.
- Bake for about 45 minutes.
- Eat right away or store in an airtight container in the fridge, bringing them to room temperature before eating them.